My mother used to start her baking just after Thanksgiving and fill the baking containers with many, many baked goodies by Christmas time. She gave away a lot of it, but we also nibbled all through the holidays. Lots of her baking was traditional Norwegian, sunbackles, rosettes, confectioner rounds, leftsa, and some kind of backla, along with Christmas breadloafs filled with fruited candies and raisins.
I baked a lot when I was young. Have not done much for awhile as I don’t care for excess sugar to be scooped up for either Tom or me.
But here are a favorite few that if you are looking for something “new” to add to your table, you can’t go wrong on:
My Blue Ribbon Banana Bread (from a 4-H County Fair)
1/2 c. margarine or butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. mashed overripe bananas
1 tsp. sour milk
2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 c. chopped pecans (optional)
Cream shortning, sugar, and beat in eggs. Mix the lemon juice with milk to make sour milk.
Add bananas, and combined milk and lemon juice.
Sife dry ingredients together and stir into batter.
Fold in nuts, if you want them in the bread.
Use regular size loaf pan, greased; (my glass loaf pans help give it a nice, thick brown crust that tastes good.
Bake at 350 degrees one hours in high mid oven rack. If at end of time bread looks done, but is a little soft spot on mid-top of loaf, put rack up a notch and bake another 5 min. very close to top of oven.
LEMON BARS (just discovered on www.cooks.com), easy & delicious
1/2 c. soft butter
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 c. flour
Combine & press into 8x8x2 pan. Bake 15 min at 350 degrees.
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Combine and pour over hot crust. Bake 25 min. Cut into bars.
Chocolate Crinkles (from 50 year old Betty Crocker book)
1/2 c. vegetable oil
4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, cooled at room temp
2 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. powdered sugar
In large bowl, mix oil, chocolate, granulated sugar and vanilla. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Stir in flower, baking powder and salt. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cooking sheet withshortening or cooking spray.
Drop dough by teaspoonfulls into powdered sugar; roll around to coat and shap into small balls. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes (count on 10 min. max) or until almost no imprint remains when touched lightly in center. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
These will be like soft chewy small brownies with white confec. sugar cracking on top. Do NOT overbake.
Pumpkin Cake (one of my newlywed new recipies from friend in Kentucky; easy, quick to make, and “can’t stop eating it quality.”
Sift together:
2 c. flour
2. c. sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 heaping tsp. cinnemon
dash of nutmeg
Add:
4 whole eggs
2 c. pumpkin
1 c. oil
Beat together. Pour into greased 13x9x2 pan.
Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
FROSTING:
Soften 1 stick margarine, 1 box Cream Cheese and beat together with 1 box Powdered Sugar. Add 1 tsp. vanilla.
YUM! and Merry Christmas.
Napkinwriter 